


The Light and the Obstacle that Casts It

by ThatStarlightKid



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Rating for language and description of panic, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, canon except everything’s fixed and they’re in love, well kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21733198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatStarlightKid/pseuds/ThatStarlightKid
Summary: (I do not give my consent for this work to be transferred to any other sites, or apps such as Fanfic Pocket)Virgil and Deceit are forced to reconcile for the first time since Virgil joined the light sides. They realize that they miss each other more than they thought.
Relationships: Deceit & Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Deceit/Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Comments: 29
Kudos: 243





	The Light and the Obstacle that Casts It

Normally Virgil would have welcomed the clicking rhythm of the clock. At least it filled the silence. Now, however, it seemed daunting- a constant reminder of just how painfully slowly time was passing in the mindspace. 

By some cruel twist of fate, he and Deceit found themselves alone together for the first time since Virgil had left the dark sides. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, both refusing to look at the other. 

The emptiness of the room was oppressive. The silence settled across them like a thunderstorm rumbling along the horizon, the gentle threat of imminent ruin. It made breathing difficult and thinking clear even more of a challenge. 

Virgil prayed for something to fill the space between. He would have been overjoyed to see Patton, or ask Logan what he was working on, or yell at Roman to stop singing. Hell, he could even deal with Remus popping up and screaming something about deodorant. Something, _anything._

He felt desperate, mind grasping at a way out of the situation. 

“You know... I don’t bite.” 

Deceit’s purring voice broke through Virgil’s thoughts and startled him both physically and mentally, “Excuse me?” 

“I said I don’t bite. Unlike you it seems; you haven’t ceased biting your nails for the past five minutes.” 

Virgil jerked his hand away away from his mouth where he had been, admittedly, chewing on his thumbnail, “What do want?” 

Deceit made a _tsk_ -ing sound from the back of his throat, somehow still as suave as the rest of his voice, “I just went to talk. Is that a crime?” 

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh humorlessly. He turned so he could fully face Deceit, “You never ‘just’ want something.” 

“There you go again, spitting your words out at me,” Deceit shook his head with an obviously dramatic flair. But there was something real in the way his eyes danced across Virgil, always moving but never losing their focus. It was as if he were looking for something in Virgil. 

The intensity made Virgil squirm, confused and uncomfortable. It was obvious Deceit had some hidden motives. Virgil could tell even by the honeyed way Deceit’s voice dripped through the room that he was trying to get something. But what was it going to be this time? And why now? And why _him_? Of all the sides to pick on, why did the powers above have to chose him? 

“Just skip the show, Deceit. Tell me what’s going on; I know you’re up to something,” If Deceit’s voice flowed like honey, Virgil knew his ran like venom. And he honestly didn’t care.

Deceit shrugged and glanced down at his gloved finger tips with an air of nonchalance, “Am I up to something? I had no idea. Please, do explain to me to me what it is that I’m doing.” 

Virgil felt ready to scream. He had no control of the situation; he wasn’t even sure what the situation was. There was only one thing he was sure of: Deceit hated him with the passion only someone as defensive and melodramatic as Deceit could. Unfortunately, Virgil could understand _why_ with perfect clarity. He had abandoned Deceit, moved on without a second glance. He knew it was for the best and he didn’t regret shifting over to the light sides, but why had he been such a shitty person about it? He hadn’t even said goodbye- there one day, gone the next. It was such a cold thing to do... there was no wonder in his mind why Deceit would take every chance he got to give Virgil a taste of his own medicine. 

And Deceit was clever, crafty. If you hurt him, he would get revenge in the most painful way possible; he would strike where it most mattered. Virgil knew the trigger had been pulled, now he was just waiting for the bullet to hit. 

Virgil ran his hands through his hair, worrying his already messy bangs into an official birds’ nest, “Oh _come on_. You know you always have ‘reasons.’ The one thing you don’t have a reason for is being nice to me.” 

Deceit raised his eyebrow on the unscaled side of his face, “Do you really believe I have only malicious motivation?”

Virgil sneered, “Yeah, I do. Especially since you’re using alteration.” 

He scoffed, “You’ve certainly gotten touchy living with these softies.”

“You know what- I actually haven’t! Did it never occur to you that I’ve always been this sensitive?” Virgil squinted incredulously, “I was literally called _Anxiety_ for _years_. I’ve just learned that it’s ok to talk about it, set my boundaries; something I was never told when I was with _you_.” 

Deceit seemed to crumble. His face softened and the forced casualness in his body evaporated. As the tension of his facade left, his shoulders hunched and he leaned forward with his hands on his knees. The movement only brought Deceit a few inches closer, but Virgil barely resisted the urge to jump back. His flight or fight reflexes had been ringing an alarm since he had been left alone, but now the animalistic instincts were blaring in his head. 

Deceit’s face distorted into a sad smile, “Do you really want to know what’s going on?” 

Virgil hesitated. He knew what “truth” meant to Deceit. On the rare occasion that Deceit stooped to honesty, he did so with brutal efficiency. But this is what Virgil had wanted right- to have everything out in the open? To deal with whatever Deceit was throwing at him and just be done with this whole nightmare. But now that the option was presented to him, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to accept it. 

He finally made up his mind, nodding his head silently as he glared down at his fidgeting hands in his lap. The sooner this was over, the better.

Silence had once again fallen over the room and the ticking clock regained its rule over the room. _Tick tock, tick tock._ The seconds seemed to be passing by even slower now. Virgil felt like he was stuck between two breaths- and his lungs were too frozen to take another. What was Deceit waiting for? Why couldn’t he just put Virgil out of his misery already? 

Virgil glanced up from where he had been clenching his fists when the couch cushion next to him sunk beneath Deceit’s weight. His eyes jumped to Deceit’s face, searching for answers. But Deceit’s expression gave away nothing. He was a blank slate, vague sadness that mixed with regret and settled into the type of smile that shouldn’t even be called a smile because it’s the furthest from happy he could have possibly gotten. 

“Deceit, what the hell are you-“ 

Virgil’s voice cut off with a sharp inhale as Deceit brought his hands up to cup his face. Deceit must have taken his gloves off before walking over because the palms that pressed gently against Virgil’s cheeks were bare. One was cooler than the other, the snake side of Deceit soothing against the blush that was burning under his hand. 

Deceit ran his thumb against Virgil’s cheek bone. His eyes crinkled like he was wincing, like the hand that rested against Virgil’s face was actually pressed against a burning pan. He gave another humorless laugh, close enough this time that Virgil could feel the heat of Deceit’s breath hitting his neck. 

“Virgil, I don’t hate you. I never did. I-“ He paused for a moment, taking enough time to shake his head and role his eyes, “I missed you.” 

Virgil could feel the stress building up, a dark sludge that began at the pit of his stomach and rose into his lungs. His lungs crumpled under the vice grip of some invisible force. His heart began pounding, desperate to burst from the fist clenched around it. He felt trapped in Deceit’s hands. He didn’t know how to respond, he didn’t know how to feel. Because there were so many feelings welling up inside of him all at once. This wasn’t what he had expected. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t what he had wanted. _Is_ this what he had wanted? He couldn’t remember two seconds ago but he could remember so well the years past.

It was too much pressure; an entire world’s worth of ideas in his head and the weight was crashing down on him. His breath escaped him, reverting to short, rapid gasps through his nose that barely reached his lungs. Tears were spilling down his cheeks before he even felt them reach his eyes. They were messy and ugly and spilled over onto to Deceit’s fingers and down Virgil’s chin. 

Deceit brought his hands away as the tears found their way down to his wrists. He replaced his hands across Virgil’s back, pulling him closer. To Virgil’s surprise, he didn’t resist, instead swinging his legs under himself so he could better melt into Deceit’s chest. 

Virgil was pretty sure it surprised Deceit as well, listening to the other man’s breath hitch as he buried his face into the dark cape directly above Deceit’s heart. 

Deceit got over his original shock in a matter of seconds, relaxing and wrapping himself tighter around Virgil’s shuddering form. One of the hands on his back began rubbing in small, repetitive circles. The pressure was grounding and oh so familiar. 

Deceit seemed to recognize the same familiarity, “Just like old times, huh?” 

Virgil couldn’t think of a response except to cling tighter to the body around him. Because this felt exactly like old times, except everything had changed now, and maybe it still was changing, and Virgil never knew when things were going to be safe again, because everything was always changing, but he had Deceit with him now and he wasn’t going to let go because maybe he could keep Deceit here for just a little while longer. The world was an ocean of changing tides and Virgil had no power against it. The water was crashing over his head and he couldn’t even see the light filtering through the surface. 

“Hey, hey, hey, let’s stay here for right now,” Deceit’s voice broke through the murk. It was low and indescribably soft, grounding. It felt real despite Virgil’s overfilled mind, the deep vibrations in Deceit’s chest creating a rumbling lifeline for Virgil to cling onto, “You are here and you are safe. I can promise that nothing will hurt you while I’m here.” 

Virgil took a shuddering breath, raising his head to stare up into Deceit’s face. His eyes shone down, one rich hazel and the other a sparkling emerald. Both were soft with affection and layered with care. It was enough to make Virgil want to burry his face back into Deceit’s chest as he choked on the words attempting to rise up his throat, “But what about when you’re not here? What happens then?” 

One of Deceit’s arms left Virgil’s back, the other squeezing him even closer. The missing hand brushed through Virgil’s damp bangs hanging in front of his eyes. As his fingers reached the ended of Virgil’s hair, they drifted slowly down to his face. The pads of his fingers sat softly against his skin as they fell from his brow to his jaw, but that softness was fueled with something intense, something that made Deceit’s hand shake, “Oh, Verge, I will _never_ let you get away from me again.” 

“You promise that too?” 

“Yeah-“ Deceit’s voice cracked, “Yeah, that too.” 

“Then prove it.” 

Deceit froze, the affection in his eyes momentarily replaced by startled confusion, “What do you mean?” 

Virgil felt weak and light headed and his heart was still hammering in his chest but he managed a lopsided grin, “Prove you’ll never let me get away.” 

“Virgil? I will but I don’t know how. I-“ He sounded almost desperate. 

Virgil cut him off, plunging upwards to press his mouth over Deceit’s still moving lips. He scrunched his eyes shut and dug his fingers into the material of Deceit’s cape, anything to bring them closer together. 

At first there was no response; Deceit simply ceased to show signs of life for a moment- no movement, no breath, Virgil was pretty sure he even felt the other side’s heart stop. But then he melted forward, bringing both hands to intertwine in the back of Virgil’s hair. His lips responded too, moving to return the pressure, but softer than Virgil’s. He was gentle, mouth moving occasionally, but only when it seemed necessary to deepen the kiss. 

Virgil felt his own features relax, eyebrows unraveling and forehead losing its tension as he settled into the gentle rhythm Deceit was setting. He felt warm and safe and- and he was running out of breath. 

He pulled away with a quiet hum and gave the tip of Deceit’s nose a small tap. 

Deceit blinked open his eyes, both somehow dazed and sparkling at the same time. 

Virgil gave a small laugh and let his hands fall from Deceit’s chest to wrap around his waist and clasp behind his back, “I missed you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> This is my first time working with these characters so feel free to tell me how I did  
> Love you all 🖤✨


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